Astrid - Cold
by Berk'sWarrior
Summary: "She hadn't gotten a fever, and she had already been cold to the touch. Hopefully she wasn't cold where she was now." Deadly Nadder poison wasn't something to mess with, and with a cold, things weren't likely to be in anyone's favor, especially Astrid's. When Hiccup's style of training backfires, both he and Astrid really hate the gods (T for death/minor language) (1 of 3 Oneshots)


_**IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ**_

**A/N: Soul purpose of this?**

**I wanted to write some sadness between my three favorite beloved characters. (What better way than a deathfic or two...? I'm insane.)**

**So, what you have decided to click on is going to basically be this: A deathfic for either Astrid, Toothless, or Hiccup, and the two others' reactions. I have decided to split these three Oneshots into three separate 'stories' and they'll all be labeled under the title "All Good Things Must End" (Sounds happy. And just in time for Christmas too -,-)**

**Just so you know, none of these connect with the others. The three of these each have their own separate time zone that do not interfere with the other two. And they take place sometime (maybe a few months) after the movie, as if the tv show never happened.**

_**NOTE THAT THESE WILL BE EXTREMELY LENGTHY. THIS ALONE IS 5,981 WORDS.**_

**Here's Astrid's. Let's see how Hiccup and Toothless handle this.**

**-Berk'sWarrior**

* * *

**"All Good Things Must End" - ****1**

**Astrid - Cold**

Everyone has to remember some facts, no matter how dreadful or how cruel they seem. Someday they may come back to bite you if you become too ignorant, or if you refused to see the signs. If you keep a level head on these cold and vile facts, they may not come as much of a shock when they happen. With that in mind, the villagers of Berk had seem to let one fact slip their mind ever since they became friends with their arch enemies.

Dragons were still wild creatures.

They were reptiles with an aggressive side to their animal instincts. As clever as they are, no one can ignore the fact that they have a mind of their own, no matter how many years of vigorous training they've had.

These Vikings seemed to have completely forgotten about this fact. Most treated them like pets that were there to complete tasks and chores. "Go fetch some wood" "Light a fire, the house is cold" "Fly higher, your going too low" were only a few of the phrases they heard every day, with only a slab of meat, extra dinner, or a piece of dragon nip as a reward.

Some dragons found this just as bad as the Queen.

If you threatened them, you'd get locked up. On one instance, an aggressive Zippleback had gotten upset with their 'owner' (yet another thing they hated; the fact that they were 'owned') when they had threatened them with a beating when the dragon ate part of their meal. In response, the short-tempered two headed beast lit the house on fire that night.

Beating was a high offense in the dragon realm as well as humans; it meant that you were so terrible that someone had to put you in 'your place' with physical harm.

The dragon only wanted food that its rider forgot to give him.

The Zippleback had been locked up in the place where they used to kill the reptiles, only kicking in the animal's instincts further by being in a cage. Dragons do not like cages. This just made it more aggressive, and when they finally brought it out when the damage had been fixed, it was more violent than before.

The Vikings chose to execute it because it would 'slaughter them all'. It was vile, and nobody came to watch as the dragon's necks' were cut.

This was not the first time this had happened. As time went on, people relied on dragons more and more to do their work and carry their things with little to no reward. Quite a number of dragons were wiser than the others, and had nice riders that treated them well, but others had riders who treated them as nothing but a slave, a beast to attend to their every whim.

Those dragons were the most aggressive.

It got to the point where everyday they had to lock up a dragon, be it a tiny Terrible Terror, or a Monstrous Nightmare. The Vikings were starting to fret and panic that things were starting to go back to the way it was before. They leaned towards the teens of the tribe to help; they were the most experienced. They'd go down everyday and help to try and retrain these poor beasts, while at the same time try to figure out the problem.

This morning, two teens were trudging through the snow to the arena, hoping to help a Deadly Nadder that had destroyed a town's weapon supply shed. One of the teens was girl with blonde hair tied into a braid with a headband around her head to keep the rest of her hair out of her face - which didn't really seem to work, wearing a short sleeved blue shirt despite the cold, with spiked metal shoulder pads, a leather battle skirt with spikes running up and down each strap, skulls somehow attached to the top of each one. The second teen was a boy with auburn hair and light freckles on his cheeks, wisely wearing a long sleeved green tunic, a fur vest on top. The only thing off was that he was missing his leg foot, a prosthetic as its replacement.

They made their way forward, neither of them saying anything. Neither of them wanted to be there at all.

Once in a while the boy's prosthetic would choke up, and the gears would freeze in the snow, causing him to trip. After he fell four times, a few unpleasant words were muttered under his breath. The girl tried her best to ignore him.

As they reached the arena, the snow started falling harder around them, and the girl suddenly started violently coughing, quickly pressing her face into her elbow. The boy looked over at her with worry as he opened the gate into the stone ring. "Are you ok?" he asked. The girl held up her free hand as if to say _'give me a moment'_, and when the coughing ceased the girl nodded her head. "I'm fine Hiccup. I've just got a cold, that's all." she replied, straightening her back and tilting her head up to a level position as if she was trying to restore lost dignity.

The boy named Hiccup gave her a look, before replying. "Are you sure?" She nodded curtly "I'm the one and only Astrid Hofferson. A cold isn't going to bring me down." Hiccup just shrugged, for once he was fresh out of sarcastic comments. The cold was probably getting to him.

Shaking the snow off her boots, Astrid grumbled, "Why do we even have to be here? Why can't someone else try to retrain a Nadder?" she muttered. Hiccup remained silent as he tried to make his way forward through the blur of the snow to open the cage where the Nadder was kept. Its eyes gazed out at him, anger clearly shown. It's bright yellow scales shown through the snow, its claws scratching at the rock ground bellow, the feeling and thought of ripping something with them flowing through its mind.

He pulled a lever and opened the cage without a second thought.

The Deadly Nadder busted through the open cage door, glad to finally be free. It glared at Hiccup as he stood near it, annoyed by the human filth. It readied its spikes and held them out at him, but Hiccup did not flinch. He'd done this many times before. Slowly reaching a hand out to the tail, he turned his head behind him to see Astrid watching him and what he was about to do.

She was there for back up in case something went wrong. Turning his head back to the Nadder, he saw its eyes stare at him through the snowflakes flurrying in between them, daring him to move. Hiccup sighed, his breath forming into mist in the cold air before disappearing. He slowly put his hand on the Nadder's tail, beginning to smooth the spikes down, being extra cautious not to touch the ends of them, as they were poisonous.

The Deadly Nadder watched as the boy proved he was no threat. It could feel its pupils dilate wider a bit more, as he saw that the boy had no weapons on him, and it closed the rest of its spikes, slowly pulling its tail away. Hiccup smiled and reached his hand out to pat it on the nose, which it accepted. He could feel the brush of scales on his palm, and he opened his eyes, looking past the blurring snowflakes to find his hand on the dragon's snout.

All was quiet. Hiccup knew that it something were to move, the peace and trust would be lost. Thor knows what'll happen then.

Slowly, he took his hand away. The dragons eyes opened, and Hiccup saw that most of the anger had gone away. Hiccup mentally checked off the list of steps inside his head, preparing for the last one. The dragon had to bond with Astrid as well, otherwise it would never walk back to the village with them.

He turned around and was about to motion for Astrid to come forward, when he saw an expression of sheer terror flash across her face. He was confused, until he saw her bury her mouth in her elbow, and he realized she was trying not to have a coughing fit. Terror flashed across his face as well.

A coughing attack would kill them. The quietness needed to be kept or the dragon would be spooked. An upset creature with poison and fire was not something that you wanted spooked.

Hiccup couldn't move. He was frozen to the spot as Astrid made gagging motions, trying not to cough. The Nadder was eyeing her suspiciously, when suddenly she couldn't hold it in any longer.

The coughs escaped her lungs, and they echoed throughout the arena. Hiccup immediately dropped to the floor in an act to protect himself as the Nadder reared back. In an instant its spines were out and it flung them across the arena, growling and squawking angrily. Hiccup was able to dodge them, being on the floor, but Astrid was hunched over, her coughing still continuing. Most of them flew over her, but one lodged itself in her right arm, the end digging in deeply. She immediately fell to the floor, and Hiccup had to restrain himself from screaming out her name; he knew it would only spook the dragon more.

He could only watch in horror as the dragon raced to the exit, unfolding its wings and taking off out of the arena. Once he was sure it was gone, Hiccup quickly picked himself up and raced over to Astrid, who was lying on the ground, not moving.

Her skin was already beginning to pale, and her lips were turning a faint blue, here eyes staring at nothing as the poison seeped in. Hiccup called her name and shook her as if her was trying to wake her up, but stopped when she let out a whimper of pain. He felt like and idiot; he was only hurting her more. Ignoring any squeamish part of him, he took a hold of the Nadder spike in both hands, and yanked it out of her arm. He tried to ignore the blood that immediately was seeping from her arm and turning bit of the snow around them a faint pink, and the shriek of agony she let out, but it did no good. It terrified him.

"C'mon, Astrid! You have to get up, we'll get you to the healer!" He shouted over the scream of wind that had picked up. Astrid made no response. Hiccup knew they were loosing valuable time; Deadly Nadder poison was at some situations fatal.

Their situation wasn't looking so great either.

They had to leave their dragons at their homes while they trained the others - Chief's orders. Hiccup made a mental order to talk to his dad about that. _'Oh gods...'_ he thought as he realized he had no idea what to do. They never really taught the teens about basic medical care, which came as a shock to him. He tried to think up a plan. He tried to help her stand up, taking one of her arms and putting it around his shoulders. They made some progress towards the exit before Astrid stumbled again.

She started coughing again, her eyebrows knit in what seemed like annoyance to the fact that sickness was overcoming her. She attempted to stand up, her arms shaking, before falling again. "Astrid-" Hiccup began, reaching down to her, but she cut him off. "Save it." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not going to let a mere thing like this stop me from getting home." she said defiantly. She tried to stand up again, ignoring Hiccup's pleas, but fell on her back again.

Hiccup knelt down next to her, his eyes widening as he realized that she had, some how, gotten even paler. Through the snow he saw that she was shivering - something Astrid rarely ever did. "This is not good - this is _really not good!_" Hiccup exclaimed, beginning to fret. Astrid only glared at him, as if angry that he'd brought the subject up.

She took in a deep breath, wheezing a little, before saying, "Help me up." It took Hiccup a moment to register this. "...What?" "I said. Help. Me. Up." she growled, her stubborn side really edging through. She knew how much danger she was in, how consequential it was to move while in this state. She didn't care; the closer they got to the village was the closer Hiccup could go get help.

But of course, the idiot wouldn't listen and tried to foil the plan.

"But it's too risky! It'll spread the poison even more, and then you might..." he trailed off. He didn't want to speak the word, it was too dreadful, especial since it related to Astrid in this case. Losing her was not an option. Not now, not ever.

"Might die?" her hoarse voice questioned, finishing his sentence.

Hiccup grimaced. It was as if she knew that would strike him. Even in a dying state, she still never failed to tease him. He took a deep breath, "Look, I...I'm going to go get help...I'll be back as soon as I-" he started, standing up, but stopped dead when she let out another cough attack, this one sounding more painful than the rest.

"-Or I'll just stay here." he finished. He'd been sick before, he knew how good it felt to have company. Or maybe it was just him; no one had ever talked to him. Astrid glared at him. "You...go...now." she snarled through her cough, before her head dropped, and she remained still.

Hiccup never ran so fast in his life.

* * *

The villagers were on edge. Nothing had been going as planned. Hiccup had shown them that dragons were okay, but nothing worked anymore. Scared children and their mothers watch from indoors as a group of Vikings were attempting to round up a group of three angry Gronckles. The Grocnkles were not very pleased with this approach. They may be slow in flight and walk, but they were a decent bit intelligent, and they could tell that these humans were no good. Not when they carried big weapons with sharp blades meant to cut their scales and skin them alive.

As a man approached one of the dragons from the side, he poked it with the stick end of the mace he was using in case the beasts got out of order. The Gronckle spooked, and he snapped around, his huge clubbed tail hitting the man behind it, sending him sprawling to the ground. He didn't move. Gronckles have huge and strong muscles in the back of their tails so they could be used as a last line of defense. Who knows what type of damage it had done to the man.

Everyone gasped and murmured to themselves. The Viking could be dead for all they knew, and the thought upset them. This wasn't the way it was supposed to be going. A few advanced forward, and the dragons took this as a sign of aggression. They unfolded their small wings and took off like three huge bumble bees, growling, roaring, and hissing all at the same time. The Vikings chased after them, hoping to get them down some how - even if they had to use a few weapons.

You may or may not be wondering why all of this was allowed. The man who was supposed to be controlling everything was currently sitting at his table in the Haddock house, drinking mead and pondering over recent activities. This had happened so often that he didn't even go out to try and stop them all; insults were all that he'd receive. So instead he spent his time inside trying to come up with new plans, drinking his old ones away.

Meanwhile, our little one-legged hero from a month ago was trudging through the snow, calling out his dragon's name in hopes his magnificent hearing would pick up from wherever he was.

_'Probably off playing with Astrid's Nadder in the dragon nip fields. That is if they aren't covered in snow, which I'd bet they are.' _he thought to himself glumly as his gears in his prosthetic jammed, making the half running - half walking through the snow ten times harder.

Just thinking about the girl's name made him run faster; he _needed _to get back to the village. Desperately. A life was on the line, and this time it wasn't his, instead it was one much more important to him as Fate decided to play. He growled to himself.

Cupping his hands to his mouth he called out into the now hailing air, "_TOOTHLESS!_" He looked around him as his voice echoed. Nothing. He sighed, before his expression scrunched up and he threw himself forward, making himself go as fast as he possibly could. Nothing was going to stop him. Not yet.

Oh why did Fate hate him so much? The _one _human being he cared for outside of his family is currently being taken away from him. It wasn't fair! He had managed to prove himself not to be screw up and this is what he gets in return?

Sometimes he hated the world so..._so _much.

At this point he was shivering, and by the look of the ends of his fingers, he was getting mild frostbite. He felt like collapsing, it was as if the ice had decided to form in his lungs, and his stump was starting to act up again from having his prosthetic being on so long. At the moment, to be honest, all he wanted to do was cry. No matter how un-viking like it was.

No. Astrid needed him to keep going.

With a grimace, he pulled himself forwards, only to be knocked to the ground and land face first in the biting snow. Lifting his head from the snow, he muttered angrily,"What the-" before a purr interrupted him. He turned his head to see his buddy sitting there with a smile on his face, and heavily breathing. He probably had to run a while to get to him.

Hiccup couldn't be happier to see Toothless. He picked himself up with a bit of force and wrapped his arms around the dragons neck for a moment. Toothless's ears perked in small shock; he wasn't sure what had made Hiccup be welcoming. But quickly he let go before Toothless could think, and said "Thanks for coming, bud." and hopped onto the saddle he had - luckily - forgotten to take off the same morning after their early flight. "We have to get to the village - now." he muttered. Toothless didn't need telling twice. From Hiccup's voice, he could tell something was terribly wrong. Despite the harsh snow that was falling all around them, the Night Fury kicked his back feet and made a vertical take off...much to Hiccup's displeasure, as snow pelted him smack in the face.

* * *

Not a minute later, they were flying over the armory. Hiccup looked around, squinting, searching for somebody to help him. What started to worry him was when - even through the blizzard - he couldn't find anyone. Not a single person. No one was going to get their weapons sharpened (which seemed to be happening a lot recently...), no children were out building snowmen, nothing. Berkians were used to snow; what had happened?

Just as he was about to go to the Mead Hall to look, the crackling sound of new fire and a screech echoed to his right. He didn't need to say anything, he just clicked his prosthetic, and Toothless knowingly shot forward after the sound.

Hiccup scanned the snow covered paths and houses, until he spotted what looked like a group of Vikings surrounding what seemed like moving boulders. _'Scratch that,'_ he thought as Toothless dove down. _'Gronckles.'_

Hiccup unlocked his prosthetic and jumped off the saddle, something he instantly regretted as a sharp pain shot up his stump. He grit his teeth and hissed slightly, before shaking his head and racing forward to the group. Toothless sat down and waited to jump into action in case anything harmful happened to his Hiccup.

"Excuse me! I need-" Hiccup began, but the men began shouting as one of the Gronckles growled. hiccup's eyes widened. What were they doing?! He tried to step in between the two men in front of him to get a better look, but no one noticed him. "Can I just- let me- I can't-" he muttered, now desperate, until somebody shoved him back and he fell into the snow. His head hit the frozen ground and spots danced in front of his eyes until he could barely see what was happening in front of him. Toothless darted forward and stood in front of Hiccup, trying to protect him from the evil men that hurt him. Hiccup was lucky that he couldn't see past the spots and Toothless, because from the cry from one of the dragons, the sound of something falling to the ground, and the men shouting was all he needed to know. He was about to scream in anger, shock, and pain until a loud booming voice rang out from somewhere to his right.

"_What in the name of Hel is going on here?!"_

Hiccup turned his head and saw his father standing there, shaking from anger and shock. The men started backing away; when their Chief was angry or upset, no body wanted to be around. Stoick took one look at the sight before him before shouting to Valhalla. Hiccup covered his ears, not wanting to hear him shout at the men. Toothless was growling, roaring, and hissing the entire time, now completely hating the men as he looked at the poor Gronckle, its eyes forever staring blank.

When his dad stopped, he turned to see Hiccup on the ground. He walked over and took his son by his arm and helped him up, sending the men another glare. "What were you doing here son?" he questioned, trying to control his anger at the Vikings. Hiccup's face went pale as he realized that it had to have been half and hour after he had left, and he had no idea how long it took for the poison to take full fatal effect.

Stoick saw his son pale and most of his anger vanished on the spot and was replaced by worry. "What's wrong?" he asked. Hiccup's breath stuttered for a moment. "A-Astrid's..." he stuttered, his blank stare un-moving. Everybody shifted and mumbled to themselves, fear plastered on all of their faces. But not from Stoick, but for the fear of the warrior girl. One man looked more frightful then the rest, and he walked forward towards Hiccup. Stoick shook his shoulder trying to get him to talk. "Astrid...she's..." he muttered, and the man took in a breath.

"Astrid? Where is she? Is she hurt?" the man demanded. Hiccup shook his head to himself; _'Oh gods...she could be dead by now...'_ was the only thought going through his mind. The man started to shake Hiccup's shoulders, shouting at him, "**_You tell me where my daughter is,_ _boy!_**" Hiccup blinked, unfazed. "Arena...Nadder poison...hit..." he started, but it was all he needed to hear. Astrid's father dropped Hiccup and raced away, and a few of the men followed him. Stoick's eyes widened, and he reached to help Hiccup up, but his head had hit the hard ground again, and he blacked out.

* * *

Hiccup woke with the pounding in his head, coldness, and the dark. At first he was confused, but he slowly started to remember. He looked around and saw that he was still lying on the snowy ground, but he couldn't see much. He looked up at what he supposed was the night sky, but saw it shift slightly. In confusion, he raised his hand out and found that it wasn't night, but he was enclosed in something. Finally, it dawned on him. "Toothless, I'm awake now." he whispered.

The darkness was lifted as Toothless moved his wing, purring at him. Hiccup looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. Things kept going from bad to worse, and he wasn't even going to try and figure out why he and Toothless were still here out in the snow.

Toothless nudged his arm to help him up. Hiccup smiled his thanks and Toothless gently headbutted his side affectionately. The first thing that went through Hiccup's beaten mind was to get home. He was sure he had frostbite on his fingers and toes, and they needed to be treated. He groggily climbed onto Toothless's neck and clicked in his prosthetic, making sure it was in a position where Toothless could do what he wanted. Worried for his rider, he flew straight to their home.

* * *

Hiccup held in a scream as his father took his hands and submerged them in hot water, specially heated by Toothless. "It's ok. It should thaw the tissue in about half an hour." Stoick mumbled. Hiccup tried to ignore the comment. Toothless warbled protectively at his rider, and Hiccup gave a faint smile at him.

His dad had done the same to his foot, and removed his prosthetic - which had a cloth wrapped around the stump. Hiccup's hair was wet and matted, and he was wearing an over sized gray tunic, his own being dried over the fire. "Why do the gods hate me...?" he said to himself. Stoick let out a grumbled before taking another swig of his ale, his eyes glistening from his drink. "Don't complain." he said. "The gods really have it in for the Hofferson girl today." he mumbled. Hiccup's head shot up. What did he just say?

Stoick saw his son's reaction and he cursed his blasted mouth. Hiccup attempted to stand up, but Stoick forced him back down. "You're not going anywhere. You're staying here until you're better." he said bluntly, then - pretty stupidly - got up to get more ale from the barrels outside, his mind slightly fuzzy. While he was out, Hiccup quickly grabbed his prosthetic and tied the straps, not even attempting to remove the bandage cloth. His fingers hurt like hell, and his toes weren't any better. But, never the less, he stuck it out. Toothless growled a warning at him, reminding him that what he was doing was utterly stupid. "I don't care, Toothless. I've got to go and see her." he said as he limped around the room, taking his green tunic and fur vest from the fire and replacing them with the gray over sized. Toothless was extremely worried, but he could feel his rider's sorrow, and he knew he needed to help.

Once Hiccup put on the half dry vest, Toothless nudged him onto his neck. Hiccup pat his head before the dragon ran out the door, leaving Stoick to himself when he came back in.

As they flew, Hiccup directed Toothless to the Hofferson's house, which was only a few paths away from theirs, the one that had a huge Nadder head over the door way, coincidentally. Toothless dove down at the door and landed at the steps. Hiccup jumped off, the only thought other then getting to Astrid going through his head was _'PAIN PAIN PAIN PAIN'_ as his frostbite reminded him that it was there.

Hiccup sucked in a breath, before knocking on the door. There was a moment's pause before it opened.

Astrid's father stood there, his face stern and eyes puffy from what seemed like...tears? No. that wasn't possible.

"What do you want?" he said dryly. Hiccup's eyes moved nervously; he probably looked like a wreck. "Uhm...is Astrid here?" he asked stupidly. He nodded. "Of course she's here." he replied. Hiccup waited a moment for him to continue, before realizing he wasn't going to say anything else. "Can...can I, maybe...go...see her?" he sputtered. Mr. Hofferson's face remained the same, but Hiccup could have sworn his jaw stiffened. If this man was anything, he was very protective of his daughter. She was the very best in dragon training and any sport the teens' tried, and her father was one of the most respected people on Berk.

It wasn't as if he was going to let some kid go and see his dying daughter. Even if that kid saved the village.

Suddenly a voice interrupted the silence, calling him back. He left Hiccup standing in the door step, while he and another person - whom Hiccup was assuming was Mrs. Hofferson - argued. He tried his best not to eavesdrop. After another moment Astrid's father came back.

"She's in her room." he said.

Hiccup smiled his thanks before he and Toothless entered the Hofferson's home. They walked towards the stair case and attempted to ignore the small cries Mrs. Hofferson was letting out. As the ventured up the stairs, the door at the top opened, and the village elder came out and walked down pass them without any emotion. This only worried Hiccup more.

When they reached the top, Hiccup slowly opened the door, and the sight in front of him made him go pale.

Astrid's bed was off to the right wall, and the girl on top of it wasn't moving. Hiccup and Toothless rushed forward, Toothless beating him in the run. The dragon licked the girl's face, making her open her eyes slightly. Hiccup let out a breath of relief before walking forward again.

Astrid's eyes were glazed over, and she didn't move. "H-Hic...Hiccup?" she stuttered, shivering slightly. Her expression was one of something he'd never seen before...she looked absolutely terrified. Hiccup didn't know what to do, so he decided to sit down in a chair next to her. He felt as terrified as she looked. Questions swarmed his mind, but before he could ask anything, she broke the silence.

"I can't move..."

Hiccup's eyes widened. "What?" "P-Paralyses. Nadder poison paralyses...can't...move...waited to long...for treatment..." she stuttered again. Hiccup went deadpan. Toothless warbled in a scared fashion before nudging her face, but it didn't move. "How long will it last?" Hiccup asked, but Astrid only responded by closing her eyes and her expression hardening in anger. Hiccup stood up from the chair, the worst coming to mind. "I'm not moving again, Hiccup...I'm not-" she began, but a fit of coughing interrupted her. Toothless called out, now even more scared for her.

Astrid smiled. "Good dragon." she said hoarsely. Toothless rubbed his face against hers like a cat, and Astrid smiled again. "I'd pet you if I could." she chuckled. But it didn't make Hiccup laugh. He was horrified; when Astrid had coughed, blood started trickling out of her mouth. "Astrid! Y-Your-" he exclaimed, kneeling down in front of her.

"I'm dying?" she finished for him with a whisper.

She wasn't teasing him like she was last time; that's the reason she was terrified. She was loosing a battle between life and death. Hoffersons didn't loose...ever. But here she was, the village elder having looked her over and proclaimed that she most likely wouldn't see tomorrow's dawn. It..._terrified_ her.

"Yes. I am."

"Don't say that."

"But-"

"Don't. Say. That. I don't care. You're not dying."

Astrid suddenly looked like she was trying to hold in a few tears - of anger or fear, he didn't know. Seeing this, Hiccup immediately felt guilty, and on the verge of his own tears. He was only making it worse for her, the least he could do was try and make her happy, but he was doing the exact opposite. He took his hand and swept away her bangs from her face, and she gave him a faint smile.

"Thank you for trying..." she muttered, her eyes half open. Hiccup smiled, tears welling up in his eyes. "Guess this stupid cough really did get the better of me...huh?" she said sickly. Hiccup shook his head, his hand resting on her cheek. She scoffed slightly.

They stayed there for a while longer, Hiccup kneeling in front of her before he could no longer feel her breath rise in her cheek, and her eyes had closed completely. His breath hitched. Toothless nudged her again, but she didn't react with her gentle smile or flash of happiness in her blue eyes. She didn't move. Toothless's whined and kept nudging her desperately as Hiccup watched, thorns starting to pick his heart and making it bleed.

That was when realization struck. This wasn't just some person who had been his friend; this girl had pushed him on when he couldn't, she was the one who pointed him in the right direction - even if the directions were painful in the shoulder. She was the one who convinced him to stay instead of leaving. The one who inspired him to save his best friend. She was a reason he was still on Berk.

That same girl was just taken from him. He'd never see those blue eyes, feel the sharp pain in his shoulder whenever she teasingly punched him, or hear her unique laugh whenever they went flying.

He was absolutely sure that the gods hated him.

But she didn't like crying, and she wouldn't want him to either. Chocking in his tears, he leaned down hesitatingly and lightly kissed her cold forehead. She hadn't gotten a fever, and she had already been cold to the touch. She had only got colder when her heart gave up. Hopefully she wasn't cold where she was now.

"Thank you for being there for me." He whispered. "I wouldn't have gotten this far without you."

She was probably up in Valhalla screaming at Odin for taking her at 14.


End file.
